How Do Odds Work in Horse Racing?

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1. Betting against the spread on the NFL is undoubtedly the most popular form of spread betting, but there are other options. You will also see point spreads in hockey, baseball, and soccer. They are referred to in different terms, but they refer to the same principle of operation as the spread.
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Horse racing odds are fluid leading up to the race because they are dictated by the amount of money in the pools. Prior to every race day, a track official will release the morning lines. Those morning lines are a projection of where the odds for each horse will finish when the race goes off, and do not have any direct impact on potential payouts. Using those morning lines as a starting point, as more money comes in on certain horses, their odds will go down. Horses that aren't attracting a lot of money in the win pool will have their odds go up. Those odds will remain fluid all the way up until the moment the gates open and the race begins.

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The most important thing to note is that the odds/payout you will receive are based on when the race starts, not when you place the bet. If you bet on a horse at 5-to-1 three minutes before the race and he goes off at 3-to-1, you're going to get paid based on those 3-to-1 odds. Conversely, if you bet on a horse at 5-to-1 and he goes off at 8-to-1, you're looking at a nice increased payout.